Historic opening day finally arrives

Croxley Danes School today welcomed its inaugural group of students in a historic moment for this brand new secondary school. In a series of firsts, students arrived for the first time in their new uniforms, took part in their first assembly led by Headteacher Mr Thompson and enjoyed their first lessons. Students Holly and Phoebe from Croxley Green called the school "calm, friendly and welcoming”, whilst Cameron described his first day as "exhilarating" going on to say that he was particularly looking forward to science lessons for the "explosions!"

Dr Valentine, Executive Headteacher, said “I would like to pay tribute to the hard work of all those who have contributed to the considerable planning and preparation which goes into starting a new school and to the parents who, in huge numbers, put their faith in us by applying for a place. We are also grateful to those who have supported us in other ways including local councillors and our two local MPs Richard Harrington and David Gauke. The excitement of the students joining us today was palpable and we look forward to working with them for the next seven years.” Mr Thompson described the first day as "inspiring" and expressed his pride in the way in which the students conducted themselves: "spontaneous table tennis at lunch time involving students from both St Clement Danes and Croxley Danes provided a fantastic example of how well the two schools' communities have already begun to gel."

In the first assembly, students heard a message from one former student of St Clement Danes, a silver medalist at the European Indoor Championships in 2017, and were played a music video performed and directed by two others. Jack Garratt's song 'Surprise Yourself' provided an inspirational message to the students who were spoken to about the importance of first impressions and long term aspirations. The video, directed by Tom Clarkson, shows a series of people challenging themselves to conquer personal fears. Phillipa Lowe in her message spoke to students about grasping the opportunities which are open to them - something we know they are looking forward to in the weeks ahead.

It has been a long time in the planning, but we are delighted to be able to say that we are now officially open!